Kantova praktična filozofija i kategorički imperativ u konstruktivističkoj interpretaciji Onore O’Neill
Kant’s Practical Philosophy and the Categorical Imperative in the Constructivist Interpretation of Honore O’Neill

Author(s): Selma Alispahić
Subject(s): Ethics / Practical Philosophy, Early Modern Philosophy
Published by: Akademija Nauka i Umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine
Keywords: categorical imperative; practical philosophy; Kant; constructivism; Onora O’Neill; formalism; action;
Summary/Abstract: Kant’s deontological ethics, which places a crucial emphasis on reason in the realm of the practical and insists on consistent action in accordance with the moral law and acting out of duty, is often considered too demanding for the possibility of complete and practically fruitful application, and since its inception, it has been criticized for alleged empty formalism and rigorism. Onora O’Neill defends Kant’s ethics from these objections, offering a plausible interpretation of the meaning of its supreme practical principle and addressing its relation to concrete actions, moral issues, and dilemmas. This paper problematizes the practicality and applicability of the categorical imperative (in its universal law formulation in particular) through her constructivist interpretation presented in her works Acting on Principle (2013) and Constructions of Reason: Explorations of Kant’s Practical Philosophy (1989). The aim of the paper is to highlight the importance of this perspective for understanding the practicality of Kant’s ethics, and to present arguments that allow it to be popularized in contemporary circumstances and understood as truly relevant for solving moral problems we encounter daily.

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